When adjoining two pieces of pipe, dowel, or rod it is desired that the joint is smooth and conforms to the diameter of the material joined. Typically, the best way to join these materials is through a cope cut. In a cope cut, the end wall of a first material is cut to match the diameter of the side wall of the second material. Often when joining metal materials, this joint is welded. A cope cut is commonly used when constructing railings, racks, and guardrails out of pipe and tubing.
Traditionally, this cope cut is made with a band saw or other similar tool. According to this method, a user will draw or trace the curve to be cut and carefully use the saw to remove the material along this curve. This is time consuming and often requires additional cuts or grinds to ensure a precise fit. More recently, this type of cut has been prepared using a milling type machine with the cut made by a tool sized to the diameter of the pipe to be fit. This requires several tools with varying diameters to accommodate the varying diameters of pipe. Additionally these machines are often very large and require a dedicated electrical connection. Therefore, a device is needed to perform a cope cut that cuts varying diameters of pipe without changing the tool, is portable, and uses standard household electrical current.